Members of Seniors Active in a Gay Environment (SAGE) have become the latest targets of an ongoing scam targeting the GLBT community. In the past the con has targeted the leather community, the Greater San Diego Business Association and the staff of the Gay and Lesbian Times, netting thousands of dollars that have never been recovered.

Typically the con artist contacts his victims by phone, representing himself as an associate or acquaintance of the victim. He goes on to say that while he was traveling out of town he has been mugged, beaten and hospitalized and now needs money to get home. The con artist requests that money be sent to him via Western Union to cover medical expenses or for transportation home, such as a rental car or plane ticket.

“We received a phone call, a collect call, from Los Angeles and the operator indicated or gave the name of a person who happens to be one of our members who is also involved with other organizations as well,” Tom Kirkman of SAGE told the Times. “The name was familiar, but we don’t accept collect phone calls. After several calls of desperation, and hearing it on the other end of the phone and knowing the person, we accepted it… and the story was he was in LA and robbed and his car was broken into and he just got out of the hospital and needs money.”

As in past scams, the caller claims that his wallet was taken during the robbery and he does not have any money or identification. He then asks for money to be sent to him via Western Union, with the victim of the call being told to check the box on the money order form that says ID is not required and a password may be used instead.

“Somebody knows us pretty well because this happened to me with regards to Dignity several years ago,” said Kirkman, who notified the Times about the scam. “They didn’t contact me directly, but they were using my name. They used my name on several occasions and they probably got my name off the Internet because that was when I was president of Dignity. My name and e-mail were on there for people to contact me.”

When the con artist has his targets on the phone he drops enough details to make it sound as though he is really who he claims to be. In the past when callers have said that his voice sounds odd the con artist reacts by saying that he is swollen or has lost some teeth from being beaten during the robbery or that his jaw was wired shut while receiving medical care. Victims repeatedly say that at the time they got caught up in the excitement and the paranoia of the caller, reacting without calling anyone to confirm the story or even checking to see if the person who is being impersonated is indeed out of town or traveling.

“I just feel bad that anybody is going to get suckered in,” Kirkman said. “There are a lot of smaller organizations here. The sad part is, we have this policy about collect calls and we have reviewed it from time to time, but if you had someone who is in your organization, who you knew very well and who was in a certain amount of danger, sometimes the human element takes over. That’s exactly what’s happening.”

Victims may find it difficult to report the crimes because they are in San Diego, but the calls from the con artist originated in Los Angeles and the money was also picked up in the Los Angeles area. According to the Financial Crimes Division of the San Diego Police Department, anyone involved in this scam or a similar one needs to report the crime to the FBI at (858) 565-1255.